Island



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. G. A. ALLISON.

. OARDING MAGHINE. No. 411,367. Patented Sept. 1'7, 1889'.

wwzm' 2 M.

N PETERS Fhnlo-Lilhogmphur" Washington. DC,

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. A. A LLISON. CARDING MACHINE.

No. 411,367. Patented Sept. 1'7. 1889.

WITNIE'EEEI 5a .Z'NVINTUE.'

N. PETERS. PhoXwLillm m Iwn Jnshin lmv. 11c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. ALLISON, OF PASGOAG, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGN OR OF ONE- IIALF TOFRED. L. SAYLES, OF SAME PLACE.

CARDlNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 411,367, datedSeptember 17, 1889.

Application filed Au u t 29, 1887. Serial No. 248,134. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. ALLISON, of Pascoag, in the county ofProvidence, State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Carding- Machines, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to carding-machines for drawing out and arrangingthe fibers of wool, cotton, or other staple in parallel order; and oneobject of the invention is to provide improved mechanism for running thedoffers at a uniformly-variable speed for producing a roving havingportions of alternate enlarged and reduced diameters of equal lengths;second,to provide improved mechanism for reciprocating the doffers,whereby a roving may be produced of different colored or kinds ofmaterials, and, third, to so combine and arrange said mechanisms that aroving consisting of different colored or kinds of material, havingportions of alternate reduced and enlarged diameters of equal lengths,may also be produced; and the invention consists in the features ofconstruction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter morefully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In order that my invention may be fully understood,I have illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, and will proceed to de scribe, the best formsthereof, asso far devised by me, with the knowledge that such forms maybe variously modified, without, however, making a substantial departurefrom the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side View of an ordinaryfinisher-card provided with part of my improvements, to gether with thecondenser or rub-rolls, the

frame of the card being partly shown in' broken lines, while the framingfor the rolls as well as the actuating means for the rolls are omitted,since such parts are unnecessary in illustrating the use of myinvention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged View of port-ions of the gearwheels fordriving the two do'ffers shown in Fig. 1, and my improved ellipticalgearing for driving the do'ffers at a variable speed, the drive-shaftbeing shown in ci'osssection.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of portions of the doffer gear-wheels, gearedup with a n1uti-. lated gear, which is another means by which I impartthe desired uniformly-variable motion to the doifers. Fig. 4 is a viewof apiece of the roving, which is formed with the alternately-disposedenlarged and reduced diameters to portions of uniform lengths,respectively, and which is also composed of sections ofdifferent-colored wools formed into a continuous roving or sliver. Fig.5 is aview of another piece of the roving, the same being of uniformdiameter and composed of sections of different-colored stock made into acontinuous roving. Fig. 6 is a side View of an ordinary finisher-cardprovided with part of my improvements, the same consisting in thereciprocating means for the doffers and the mechanism for supplying thedifferent-colored wools to the main cylinder. Fig. 7 is an enlarged topview of portions of the feed-drum and the adjacent guide-rack, togetherwith the different-colored rovings or slivers passing thereover. Fig. 8is an enlarged detail view of a portion 'of the mechanism shown in Fig.6, with part of the inclined drive-shaft broken away. 9 is a similarView to that shown in Fig. 8 and of the same parts, with the addition ofthe elliptical gears. Fig. 10 is an enlarged plan View of a part of thecam-shaft and cam and the bevel-gear on the shaft and the camrocker andadjustable fulcrum-pin therefor.

In the said drawings like numbers of reference designate correspondingparts throughout.

Referring to the drawings, 5 designates the framing, and 6 the maincylinder, of an ordinary finisher carding-machine, above and to the leftof which cylinder are disposed the different card-cylinders, thefunctions of which need not be here described. This main cylinder isrotated by the shaft 7, which is provided with a driving-pulley 8, aboutwhich takes the driving-belt 9, (shown in part in Fig. 1,) and which mayderive its motion from any suitable source.

The doffers 1.0 are cylinders supported horizontally and extendingacross the width of the main cylinder 6. The doffers are rotated at aslower speed than the main cylinder and in an opposite direction, sothat they may raise and take off the fleece from the clothing of themain cylinder. The doffers may be provided with any character ofcard-clothing, though I preferably use the circumferential bands orrings of cards of well-known construction, which doff the fleece innarrow, ribbon-like slivers.

The slivers are delivered by the doffers to the condenser or rub-rolls11, which are suitably supported in a manner well known, and have apeculiar ruband-roll motion given them by means of mechanism not shown.After leaving the rub-rolls 11 in a condensed and compact form theslivers or rovings are wound onto rotating reels or drums, (not shown,)and from which the rovings are subsequently spun.

The doffers 10 are rotated by means of their respective gear-wheels 14,which are generally driven by a small cog-wheel which is fixed upon ashaft receiving its motion indirectly from the main-cylinder shaft.

The foregoing-described parts are old in the art and their respectivefunctions and applications are well known. I therefore make no claim tothe same.

There are many well-known and suitable ways in which the doffers may begeared in order to give to them a uniformly-variable speed, so as toquicken and slacken their motions and thereby doff the sliver having thedesired uniformly-variable density.

I have shown two different ways of acquiring the uniformly-variablespeed of the doffers-in Figs. 1, 2, and 9 by means of elliptical gears,and in Fig. 3 by the use of a mutilated gear.

The pinion 15, in Figs. 1, 2, and 9, is secured upon a suitably-mountedshaft 16 and runs in mesh with the respective doffer-gears 14 of theupper and lower doffers 10. On the shaft 16, beside the pinion 15, isfixed the elliptical gear 17, which meshes with a similar ellipticalgear 18, which is located upon the drive-shaft 19, which is driven bythe band-wheel 20, situated at the outer end of the shaft. Thedrive-shaft 19 receives its motion from the shaft '7 of the maincylinder through the medium of the belt 2] and the belt-pulley 22. Itwill be obvious that by the employment of these elliptical gears 17 and18 the doffers 10 maybe driven at a uniformly variable speed, the motionbeing derived from the shaft 7, and that the variation in the speed maybe regulated by changing the relation between the lengths of the majorand minor axes of the ellipses of the said gears.

In Fig. 3 the doffer gear-wheels 14 are driven by the mutilated gear 23,which consists of an ordinary cog-wheel having a number of the teethremoved from opposite peripheral places. When the teeth of the mutilatedgear 23 pass in mesh with the teeth of the doffer gear-wheels 14, thedoffers will be driven faster than when the toothless portions of themutilated gear pass over the teeth, since they are driven positively;but when the blank portion of the gear reaches the gears 14 they are notmoved by such portion, but revolve by their own momentum until the teethare again brought into mesh with said gears 14. Thus the doffers will berun with a uniformlyvariable motion. The mutilated gear 23 is mountedupon the drive-shaft 19, which is rotated as before described. It willnow be evident that if the doffers are driven at a uniformly-variablespeed the sliver produced thereby will be composed ofalternately-arranged thick and thin places throughout its length, thethick places representing the low and the thin places the high speed ofthe doffers, and that the length of the areas of the thick and thinplaces, respectively, may be made equal or may be made proportionate,according to the proportion of the low and high speed of the doffers ateach revolution that is, if a revolution of a doffer is madethree-fourths of the way with high speed and the remaining fourth at lowspeed, the thin or reduced places in the sliver will be to the thick orenlarged and more dense places as three is to one. The thick places willall be of equal lengths, and likewise the thin places will all be of thesame lengths, thereby producing a sliver of uniformly-variable density,or a sliver having alternate thick and thin places symmetricallydisposed.

Then the sliver is passed through the corn denser or rub-rolls 11, it isrounded and made compact, and thereby converted into a roving, and thefiber is slightly interlaced by the rub-roll action, which is like theeffect produced by rolling the sliver between the hands, and the rovingthen appears like that shown in Fig. 4, and when this is spun forweaving the thick or enlarged'places 12 will appear as bunches on theyarn, and these bunches may be made to stand out conspicuously in thewoven fabric, according as the design or pattern calls for them. Thebunches 12 being located at regular distances apart,.the yarn can beused to carry out any design with accuracy.

By reciprocating the doffers endwise, as I will now proceed to describe,I produce a composite roving, which is made up into a continuous rovingby bits or sections of different kinds or colors of staple being puttogether in a predetermined order of arrangement. In Fig. 5 thecomposite sliver is shown as formed of the sections 24 of white stapleand the sections 25 of black staple, and the sliver is of uniformdensity and thickness, while in Fig. 4 the sliver is shown with thewhite sections 24 and the black sections 25, and also with the enlargedand reduced diameters 12 and 13, respectively, and this sliver is madeby means of the reciprocating doffers, which are also equipped to run ata uniformly-variable speed, as shown in Fig. 9.

of the cog-wheel 27, mounted on shaft 26, (see Fig. 8,) which isprovided with the bandwheel 20, receiving its motion from the axle 7 ofthe main cylinder 6 through means of the belt 21 and the band-pulley 22.The shaft 26 is also provided with the bevel-pinion 28, which mesheswith the pinion 29 on the upper end of the inclined shaft 30, which isprovided at the lower end with another bevel 31, driving the bevel-gear32, located on the cam-shaft 33, which is mounted in the frame 5 of themachine and is provided with the rotary cam 34, for a purposehereinafter described. The journals 35 of the corresponding ends of thedoffers 10 are borne in the pivotal bearings 36 of the rocker-bar 37,which is itself journaled at 38 on the spindle 39, projecting from theforked bracket 40, which is attached to the side of the frame 5. Thefoot of the rocker-bar 37 takes in the eye 41, formed at one end of thecam-rocker 42, which is provided with a longitudinal slot 43, throughwhich passes the fulcrum pin or bolt 44, which is mounted adjustably ina slot 43, formed in an extension 43 on the frame 5, so as to regulatethe amplitude or sweep of the vibration of the cam-rocker 42, the forkedend 45 of which embraces the rotary cam 34, by which the cam-rocker maybe vibrated on its pin 44 in an obvious manner, the limit or extent ofthe vibrations being regulated by adjusting the bolt in the slot 43, soas to bring the fulcrum nearer to or farther from the cam 34. Thevibrations of the cain-rocker serve to reciprocate the doffers 10 ontheir axial lines through means of the connected rocker-bar 37. In orderto maintain the gears which drive the doffergears 14 in. mesh with thesame when the doffers are reciprocated, the said gears (27 in Fig. 8 and15 in Fig. 9) are made of suffieient thickness to allowfortheintermeshing reciprocating doifer-gears 14 to reciprocate the desiredamount without moving laterally out of mesh therewith.

If preferred, instead of using the thickened gears with thedoifcr-gears, the latter may be constructed so as not to move laterallywith the reciprocating doffers, and the journals 35, upon which thedoffer-gears 14 are mounted, may be provided with splines, whereby thejournals maybe reciprocated endwise through the stationary(letter-gears.

The stock is supplied to the finisher-card in alternately-arrangedribbons, slivers, or rovings of two contrasted colors for example, asshown in Fig. 7, the ribbon 46 of black wool. and the ribbon 47 of whitewool. These ribbons are led over the drum 48 and passed through theguide-rack 49 to the machine, and when the stock reaches the doffers itis in the form of a longitudinally-striped web or sheet.

The doi't'ers are provided with the wellknown forms of cardclothingarranged in circumferential bands about the doffer-cylinders, withsuitable spaces between them, so that each doifcr may doff the fleecefrom the cylinder in parallel ribbon-like strips, the clothing of thetwo doffers being arranged so that the lower doffer will doff the stripsof fleece left upon the main cylinder by the bare spaces between thebands of the upper doffer. It will be readily understood that if thedoffers are not reciprocated the fleece will be doifed in solid-coloredribbons from the longitudinally-striped web on the main cylinder; but ifthe doffers be reciproeated on their axial lines in opposite ways, andsay, for instance, the distance of one-half the width of the bands ofclothing, the bands of clothing will each one at each completereciprocation of the doffer doif. a ribbon composed of longitudinalhalves of white and black fleece, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. As thedoffers are quickly operated, the composite sliver formed will be of achecked character, caused bythe bits or sections of the twodiiferent-colored wools being put together into a continuous sliver orroving. Thedoifers may be reciprocated any desired distance, and adifferent design of parti-colored sliver may be thus produced. Forinstance, if the doffers are rec'iprocated the distance equal to thewidth of the bands of clothing, the sliver produced will be composed ofalternate sections of black and white wool, and if at the same time thedoffers are run at a uniformly-variahle speed the sliver produced willbe made up of bunches, as 12 in Fig. 4, of one kind of wool and theintermediate reduced portions 13 of another kind of wool.

It is evident that a great variety of designs may be made in thecomposite sliver, and of course the invention contemplates the use ofany number of different kinds or colors of wool, as may be desired.

In the construction shown in Fig 0, wherein the variable speeded doffersare reciprocated, the bevel-gear 28, which meshes with the bevel 29 onthe inclined drive-shaft 30, is mounted on the shaft 19, which isprovided with the band-wheel 20, and also the elliptical gear 18, whichcommunicates its motion to the dot'fergears 14 through means of thesecond elliptical gear 17, shaft 16, and pinion 15, as shown in Figs. 1and 2.

It will be observed that the product in leaving the rub rolls 11 hasbeen condensed and slightly twisted or spun.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. In a carding-machine, the combination, with the.carding'cylinder and the doifers having the gears 14, of the shaft 16,carrying the pinion 15, located between and meshing with the gears 14,the elliptical gear-wheel mounted on the shaft 16, the elliptical gear18, the shaft 10, and the band-wheel 20 on the shaft 10, and theband-wheel 22 on the shaft of the carding-cylinder, connected tobandwheel 20 by a belt, all constructed to impart uniformlywariablespeed to the doffers, as described.

2. The combination, with the card cylinder IIO ITS

and the geared doifers, of a pinion engaging with the doffer-gears,theshaft 19, the elliptical gears 17 and 18, the shaft 30, provided withthe gears 29 31, the rocker-arm by which the doffers are reciprocated,and intermediate connections constructed to impart reciprocating motionto the doffers, as described.

3. The combination, with the card-cylinder and the doffers having gears,of a shaft having a pinion engaging said gears, means for driving saidshaft at a uniformly-variable speed, the beveled gear 28, the rocker-armby which the doffers are reciprocated, the shaft 30, provided with thegears 29 and 31, the beveled gear 32, the cam-shaft 33, and connectionsbetween the cam-shaft and rockerarm, whereby the latter is reciprocated,as described.

4. The combination, with the card-cylinder, the doffers, and means forrevolving the deffers at a uniformly-variable speed, of the rocker-armby which the doffers are reciprocated, the beveled gear 28, the shaft30, provided with the gears 29 and 31, driven by the doifer-rotatingmechanism, the shaft 33 and gear-wheel 32, the cam 34, and thecam-rocker connecting the cam with the rocker-arm, as described.

5. The combination, with the card-cylinder and the dofiers, of means forrotating said doffers at a uniformly-variable rate of speed, andmechanism for simultaneously reciprocating the doffers, whereby a rovingof different colored or kinds of material, and having uniformly-variablediameters throughout its length, isprodueed, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the card-cylinderand the doifers, of thevertical rocker-arm by which the doffers are reciprocated, mechanism forimparting variable speed to the doffers, the beveled gear 28, theinclined shaft 30, provided with the gears 29 and 31, the beveled gear32, the shaft 33, the cam 34, the camroeker 42, provided with the slot43, and the adjustable fulcrum-pin 44, constructed to impartreciprocating motion to the doffers, as described.

7. The combination, with the eard-cylinder having the doffers, andmechanism for imparting uniformly-variable speed to them, of the pinions28 and 29, the shaft 30, pinions 31 and 32, the cam 34, the cam-rocker42, and

the rocker-arm 37, constructed to impart reciprocating motion to thedoffers, as described.

8. The combination, as hereinbefore set forth, with the main cylinderand the reciprocating doffers supported near thereto and provided withdriving means, of a pivoted rocker-bar having the ends of the doifersjournaled thereon, and a cam-rocker engaging and rocking the bar, acam-shaft having a cam engaging the cam-rocker and provided with thepinion-wheel, and a shaft receiving its motion from the said drivingmeans of the doffers and provided with a gear driving the pinion-wheelof the cam-shaft, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

9. The combination, as hereinbefore set forth, with the main cylinderand the reciprocating doffers 10, provided with means for driving thesame, and provided with the j on rnals 35, of the pivoted rocker-bar 37,having the journals 35 mounted thereon, the camrocker 42, provided witha fulcrum having means of adjustment, the cam-shaft 33, provided withthe cam 34 for actuating the camrocker, and provided with the bevel-gear32, the shaft 30, provided with the bexel-gear3l, meshing with the gear32, and said shaft receiving its mot-ion from the driving means of thedoffers, substantially as and for the purpose herein described.

10. The combination, as hereinbefore set forth, with the main cylinder6, of the reciprocating doffers 10, provided with the journals 35, andhaving the gears 14, means for driving the doffer-gears, the rocker-bar37, pivoted at 38, and the bracket 40, provided with the spindle 39 forthe rocker-bar, the pivotbearings 36 for swiveling the journals 35 tothe rocker-bar, the cam-rocker 42, provided with eye 41 and slot'43, andthe adjustable fulcrum pin or bolt 44, the cam-shaft 33, provided withthe gear 32 and the cam 34 for 6scillating the cam-rocker, the inclinedshaft 30, provided with the bevel-gear 31, meshing with gear 32, andhaving the bevel-gear 29 mounted upon the upper end thereof, and thebevel-gear 28, driving the gear 29, substantially as and for the purposeherein described.

GEORGE A. ALLISON.

WVitnesses:

GEo. F. WHITFoRD, BYRON E. DEWEY.

